Woo hoo! End of year music lists!
I’m pretty far out of any loop right now, and I feel like I missed out on a lot of music this year, but there were some things that I enjoyed quite a lot. As a bonus, half of these bands (Mi Ami, Deerhoof, Grass Widow) are from the Bay Area.
Veronica Falls (their S/T album came out at the end of 2011, but I listened to it a ton this year… as a compromise, I posted the video for a single that they released in 2012.)
Oh wow… I saw them 11 1/2 years ago in a basement in Sacramento. Go figure.
\"Weren\'t you already aware the Kay is already writing everyone\'s story? We\'re all just characters who believe we are real. Things make more sense now, don\'t they. Be honest.\"- DMOAS
‘cmon guys… you can’t put anything together around Peacock, Weeks, and a PTBNL?
\"Weren\'t you already aware the Kay is already writing everyone\'s story? We\'re all just characters who believe we are real. Things make more sense now, don\'t they. Be honest.\"- DMOAS
\"Weren\'t you already aware the Kay is already writing everyone\'s story? We\'re all just characters who believe we are real. Things make more sense now, don\'t they. Be honest.\"- DMOAS
\"Weren\'t you already aware the Kay is already writing everyone\'s story? We\'re all just characters who believe we are real. Things make more sense now, don\'t they. Be honest.\"- DMOAS
I’m starting the transition to move things off my current site over to Flickr. As part of this, I am most likely going to be discontinuing my minor league baseball photography. As much as I’ve liked it, this year a lot of it started to feel more like work and less like a fun thing I enjoyed.
I’ve never made any money on it, though it’s cost a lot to do overall. Many people would give anything to have the access I’ve had. This has allowed me to travel – at my own expense, mind – to see a lot of different places and I’ve had the chance to talk to many people.
Getting to know different people from a more professional side instead of just as a sports fan has been a great experience, but at some point I had to start looking at it as “how much longer can I afford to keep doing this?” At this point, I don’t know that I can.
Whatever the case, I’m moving forward with the shift off a personal site to Flickr and I’ll have to think long and hard about the next step. If that means no more sports photography, I’ve still had a lot of fun over the last half-decade of it. We’ll see.
That is not an easy decision, but if you get the bug I am sure you can make something else happen again. Plus you have all the memories and you are not dead, so even though you may not have gotten the money, you have gotten more than most.
Very true. I’ve still been able to do a lot more than many.
Like I said elsewhere a moment ago, a big part of this is it’s never been a full-time thing I could really turn into something that’d pay. I’ve always had a regular job that allowed me to have this hobby, so if this was ever going to get more serious than it was it’d have to at least replace what I make now and I just don’t see that ever happening.
Also, are you eventually planning to move all of your existing baseball photography over there? Or will it stay up at your site? Or will it be lost forever to the internet? (hopefully the answer isn’t #3)
It’s a variety of things, but the costs are one part of it.
I’m probably going to be selling my D3, too. I just don’t NEED it, maybe never really did, but there was a time I could afford to have one and I wanted to see where things would go.
The issues I’ve had with the site itself are kind of complex, but in addition to the hosting costs and the yearly renewals for domain names (including the blog I rarely use), the person doing the hosting isn’t really making that a primary focus of what he does any more and there are certain things about the Coppermine software neither of us have been able to resolve. Of course, any time he needs to try to fix or tweak something, it’s going to cost me.
What I’m expecting is that whatever’s up there now is going to go away sooner rather than later. I’m starting out by moving scenery-related stuff over to Flickr, then I’ll see what I want to do with the baseball stuff. I’d like to keep it up there in some form, but moving things, naming photos and all that is going to be pretty time-intense.
You do good work, and flickr is an inexpensive and highly functional host.
Thank you for going as your muse takes you, and thank you for sharing your fine photography over the last half-decade plus.
\"Weren\'t you already aware the Kay is already writing everyone\'s story? We\'re all just characters who believe we are real. Things make more sense now, don\'t they. Be honest.\"- DMOAS
The low cost of a pro account on Flickr was a big factor. It’s going to be about 10% what I was paying for a year of hosting (about $25 a year on Flickr compared to around $20 a month for the personal stuff) and when I had an issue with an upgrade of the software I was billed about $100/hr just to have some things fixed.
As nice as it is to be able to point people to my own unique place on the web, it’s a cost I just don’t have a justification for any more. I can deal with having a little less of a personalized thing for what Flickr offers at the price they do it for.
I’m not done with photography by any stretch, but if this goes the way I’m thinking it’s going to be related more to non-sports things going forward.
I had an issue with an upgrade of the software I was billed about $100/hr just to have some things fixed.
fk that
It sounds like you are going through what most artists do, a decision to change focus when they have explored what they wanted in a certain subject matter.
In play, run(s)! Talk dirty to me gamecast, talk dirty. - Nevermoor
To an extent, I guess. It’s not that I hate the sports photography, but maybe in ways it’s just…limiting. There’s a lot of stuff I’ve enjoyed getting in terms of good action shots, but there are only so many ways you can shoot a guy throwing or hitting a baseball.
I think more than that, what I’ve got out of it was more on the personal side in terms of the interactions with some people.
On the flipside, I can do the nature stuff any time but it’s going to take more to get to those places than it would, say, Raley Field.
I was supposed to be off to see Django Reinhardt, but someone swiped my fking TARDIS!
\"Weren\'t you already aware the Kay is already writing everyone\'s story? We\'re all just characters who believe we are real. Things make more sense now, don\'t they. Be honest.\"- DMOAS
A childhood friend of mine’s father made his money taking pro photos on spec for local sports (little league, pop warner, high school, etc.) and gave his card to parents so they could get photos of their kids playing. Eventually he even got a side job doing on field photos for the 49ers.
If you decide to keep the website (or make a backup, so you can bring it back online at a later date) I’d be happy to help out free of charge. I’m in my last semester of computer school and I have a day job, so with my very limited free time I’ve been picking up a few web development projects for friends with an eye to filling out my resume and getting some good references/letters of recommendation.
Assuming you can backup the databases, wordpress/coppermine should be fairly easy to move to a new host ($20/mo seems pretty steep – I think Network Solutions has decent packages starting around $8/mo).
In any case, best of luck with the transition and thanks for the pictures. In addition to direct links you’ve posted over the years, I’ve often come across your stuff via google & scout.com – considering how prolific you’ve been in minor league photography its really ashame its turned into a financial burden.
I appreciate it. I don’t know yet what it’d take to do that, but shoot me an e-mail if you’d like to talk about it further. Who knows, it might work out in some way.
flashfire at speakeasy dot net
The hosting was basically $240 a year and I had both my photo site as a .com and .net and the blog site (my name) the same way.
I hear you there. I’m sure I could keep doing it as long as I want, but the drive’s not there when it comes to all the work that goes into actually getting photos ready to see later.
When Chris Lockard does stuff for the Scout.com site (well, they have the Fox Sports connection now) he usually puts up a lot less than I do from any one game. I could probably pick out 10-20 shots from each game and leave it at that but I’ve always gone for more, especially because I’ve tried showing as many of the players I see as I can.
I’ll just have to see where the photography bug leads me down the line. It may end up just being something where I do less of it aside from occasional short trips, but I don’t know. I also have the cat now, so that’s another factor to keep in mind when I want to go out of town for more than a day or so.
It could lead to a double dip recession without the unemployment extension and middle and lower class taxes going up with the expiration of the payroll tax holliday, which would completely fk us.
In play, run(s)! Talk dirty to me gamecast, talk dirty. - Nevermoor
We are STILL in a position where any stimulus is better than no stimulus, but if we’re ever going to say “fuck you, hostage takers, you own this” then this is the right time, since there is no full faith and credit issue.
"There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
Still pretty flabbergasted by the timing of the raises as well – here guys, congrats on fabricating a shit-storm, ignoring it for the past year, then resemble a bunch of sullen children blaming those across the aisle for whats happening.
Well the timing of the raises was needed because Obama needed to increase the pay of federal workers in general who had been stuck in a wage freeze. The fact that congressional salaries were tied to it is lame but whatever.
In play, run(s)! Talk dirty to me gamecast, talk dirty. - Nevermoor
Today in totally unsurprising coaching news..
I am mixed about this. I am thrilled and it had to be done, glad it happened quickly. But at the same time it never should have happened at all. I feel like it was just a waste of a developmental year for each and every member of the “offense”-if you call it that.
Can we get a countdown clock installed for pitchers and catchers reporting?
Yesterday the Raiders had nothing to lose, with the athletic and unknown Terrell Pryor starting at QB, Knapp knowing his job was on the line, and he still couldn’t manage to do anything interesting or unexpected on offense. Same old crappy ineffective stuff on third down. Not a guy who should be calling plays.
"Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."
Right back atcha, although I have my doubts as to whether I’m a human being or a tacky marshmallow candy at this time.
\"Weren\'t you already aware the Kay is already writing everyone\'s story? We\'re all just characters who believe we are real. Things make more sense now, don\'t they. Be honest.\"- DMOAS
Happy 2013 and I am here with a heads-up from someone we all love who is in the process of doing something that will please us all to no end.
I been talking to Ken K. about this Bill King book he is in the process of writing. It is called Holy Toledo: Lessons from Bill King, Renaissance Man of the Mic. It’s gonna be published in the Spring but he is working on it now… the first book he’s ever tried to write. He’d like you all to go to the Facebook page — right now the only indication of the book online because KK would like to avoid the pressure on him as a new author that too much publicity would exert — “Like” it and then leave your reminiscences and thoughts about BK in the comments on the thread with the others. For those of you that are not FB types, you may send me your words and I will see that KK gets them.
Basically he wants to possibly include stuff from the fans so it isn’t just from one perspective and that’s us, so get on there or send me something and maybe you’ll find your way into the final thing, who knows? This book is already slated to be published (by former Chronicle beat writer for the A’s, Steve Kettmann, who has a publishing company now) in early-to-mid 2013, so see what you all can come up with. I can’t promise it’ll get in the finished thing but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take this opportunity to give your own personal tributes to the one and only King of the microphone.
Never suck on a Blow Pop with the microphone open.
Thank you folks for being yourselves, and thank you for putting up with me.
\"Weren\'t you already aware the Kay is already writing everyone\'s story? We\'re all just characters who believe we are real. Things make more sense now, don\'t they. Be honest.\"- DMOAS
The batgirls vs. the Badgers is a nice throwback game, two big teams beating the crap out of each other for 3-yard gains. Brent seems to be enjoying the second half; in the first half I thought he sounded like he was nursing a nasty New Year’s hangover and might have dozed off if Herbie weren’t elbowing him in the ribs.
Yeah, that’s pretty irritating, but better than Furd wearing black which they do on occasion.
The Big Ten team with the barely-existent passing game has a chance late but throws the fatal interception. Ah, that’s the 1970s again, the Rose Bowls of WoodyBall and BoBall of my youth.
I thought we’d break out the black tops. It was weird in the stands too–everyone was wearing red. The badgers twist is that a surprising number of 20ish kids were wearing these bizarre wide red & white striped overalls, with the girls frequently wearing just a black bra underneath. I was in a parka.
The Wisconsin band is awesome.
We had such a blast. It started when the rental car place gave me a Crown Vic instead of my usual Kia Sephia and went to 11 from there.
But Pasadena…you’ve had 100 years of doing the parade…you might want to start thinking about a traffic plan.
I don’t care about the school or the footballers, but I do love the LSJUMB. That Wisconsin band was as dull as ditchwater, which is odd considering that Madison is a very hip place and Milwaukee is full of polka bands, so between them the student musicians should have been able to find some role model. But no.
With a big shot on national television (and in recent years the Rose Bowl TV ratings have been pretty similar to the ratings for most World Series games) I was hoping they would do something like spell out BOOBS and then march into forming a giant pair. In their brief appearance they spelled FUNNY but you couldn’t tell the context.
My friend’s HS marching band was invited to the Gator Bowl back in the 80’s, as was Stanford’s band. Stanford played “Yellow River” and spelled out “PEE”.
Also, on their drive to FL, they left 3 people behind at a truck stop or something. So they picked up a few random strangers, gave them uniforms (but no instruments), and brought them out on the field.
Yes it would have been. While I was in HS we marched at Disney World for an Easter parade and got to march/run the Macy’s Thanksgiving day parade. They were great experiences. In fact I was cleaning up some stuff of my dad’s recently and grabbed all of my old VHS tapes. Gonna sit down at some point and copy them over to a disc.
I might do that. Freshman year with the ruffle shirts would be nice. If you like your Danny Elfman and broadway played by a 150 piece bnd, these are for you..if you are the other 99.72% of the world, these arent the droids youre looking for.
Did anyone else find Torii Hunter’s “clarification” hard to accept? I’m just wondering where my basic rights — to love whom I wish and to work in workplaces in the secular world free of the bigotry of people so enabled in their sociopathy that they don’t even realize they’re trying to exclude people from doing something they were once themselves excluded from doing — cease to be subject to the whim of those that would just rather I did not exist because I (or their infantile myth of who they think I am) makes them “uncomfortable”.
I want to forgive him but I am still skeptical.
Never suck on a Blow Pop with the microphone open.
If the two separate quotes are combined at the ellipses, I can’t really imagine what goes between them that makes his comments any less offensive. Unless it’s something like “For me, as a Christian, if I have homophobic and hateful teammates, I will be uncomfortable because in all my teachings and all my learning, biblically, it’s not right. It will be difficult and uncomfortable.â€
I love “Christians” who rail about the terrible marginalization as Christians they feel even as their beliefs — which have only ruled every corner of the Earth for 2000 years and counting — are under such shattering, dangerous attack that they can feel entitled to deprive others of opportunities and vital life possibilities based on their “discomfort”. I can’t marry, play in the MLB and be myself, adopt kids, whatever the FK it is so this racist, homophobic cunt can feel “comfortable”. When the Tigers come next season I will buy excellent seats in the first row on the RF line for all my gay and gay-simpatico pals and lead taunting, high-volume chants of “Tor-ii Ha-ter!!!!” until he soils himself right there in the outfield.
I want to walk right up to this shit-stick moron and ask him: hey Torii, isn’t it ironic that when the White Man came to Africa the Africans had all the resources, all the minerals, all the land, all the sovereignty, and all he had was the phony, bullshit religion…. and just a few centuries later he had all the resources and the Africans were left with the phony belief system and nothing else? Why, that worked SO WELL you’d almost think it was an intentional tool of control and colonization, designed to strip people of color of their dignity, their land, and their sense! Oh, wait….
Never suck on a Blow Pop with the microphone open.
\"Weren\'t you already aware the Kay is already writing everyone\'s story? We\'re all just characters who believe we are real. Things make more sense now, don\'t they. Be honest.\"- DMOAS
Checking expenses from 2011 to 2012, this past year I spent more on credit card payments, utilities and the house, to name a few. However, I spent less on the mortgage (slightly), groceries (when factoring in no longer using Costco), gas and took out less cash.
I also cut down what I considered “unnecessary” spending by about $100 a month. Work pay was nearly equal but I sold less stuff on eBay. Overall I cut my spending by about $225 a month, but what I took in dropped by about $320 a month.
Again, a lot of that is related to not selling as much on eBay but it’s not a bad sign even though I came out in the red for 2012. I made some definite improvements in cutting back on certain types of spending and as long as I maintain what I take in I should be okay. I also have a few things I plan to sell and that will make a difference in 2013.
Just to emphasize the benefit of working from home, in 2011 I spent $700 on gas. In 2012 I spent $470.
I’ve been trying to learn the guitar, mostly on my own, but with the occasional lesson from my father and it’s not really working. It would appear that I need some regular lessons. Can anyone recommend a decent teacher in the east bay? Preferably one that will come to my house and work for cheap/home cooked meals/trade?
Are you learning on a decent guitar? Your fretting is probably better than you think if you’re playing on a buzzy piece-of-crap. How are your fretting calluses? Do your fingers ever blister/bleed?
Another thing that comes up early in the learning process is that it’s hard to concentrate on doing two things at once. I found that learning went a lot quicker when I’d lock into an easy strum pattern when working on fretting, or holding one chord when working on picking/arpeggiating/strumming. Integrating complex patterns between the two came later.
And of course, IMHO, the most important thing for a rookie to learn is the glorious power chord, because you can play it at most any position, and if you fret it strong, you build muscle memory while rocking out to the classics. Good times.
\"Weren\'t you already aware the Kay is already writing everyone\'s story? We\'re all just characters who believe we are real. Things make more sense now, don\'t they. Be honest.\"- DMOAS
I’m pretty sure it’s a decent guitar. It was a birthday present from my dad, who was a professional musician for a number of years and owned a musical instrument shop for a number of years after that.
My big issue is that I’ll do great for a week or two, build up some good calluses and then get out of the rhythm and go a month or more. I think regular lessons would help.
Seems as appropriate a time as any to tell my music nerd joke I recently made up about all those self-taught piano weenies who make the ladies swoon with nary a black key: those guys should be arrested for soliciting A-minor.
az di bobe volt gehat beytsim volt zi geven mayn zeyde
More FAIL from ** – now, the only way to see Fan Posts on the main page is to disable Adblock. Not that there’s much to see, but still, let’s keep discouraging people from posting their own stuff and instead bow and scrape to the “professionals” who are “writing” on the main page.
Huh, I can see the Fanposts with Adblock activated on Firefox. They’re still “below the fold” though, because they insist on featuring those huge photos to tease the main front page content. Also, that’s sad but unsurprising that the dozen or so Fanposts they show (which goes back 15 days) have so few comments. I guess the idea is, we’ll let you create your own post if it’s that important to you, but we’re going to minimize those and do everything we can to steer our users to the content posted by our front page writers over which we have total control.
Yeah, a few weeks ago (I think Nakajima signing) there was a FanPost that broke thee news. It got like 12 comments. And the front page post started with something like “due to the technical impossibility of promoting a FanPost to front page, let’s discuss this here”
\"Weren\'t you already aware the Kay is already writing everyone\'s story? We\'re all just characters who believe we are real. Things make more sense now, don\'t they. Be honest.\"- DMOAS
Maybe they fixed the bug. I’m sure they didn’t check it to begin with, because (as the Rev told us all last year), the target audience are the advertisers, so nobody should be using AdBlock anyway.
There’s a post at Blog Huddle, which is apparently the SBN site for sanctioned meta, explaining all the improvements. It got 1400+ comments before they shut it down as too democraticunwieldy. Some drip started lecturing people in the comments about how people who used AdBlock were thieves. Also, **** is in there complaining about how posts get ordered.
Oh, I didn’t mean it to be enticing, just verifiable. It’s like every AN meta battle ever but without any personalities. We have change, look how shiny! Yes, but your change sucks, please change it back to the way it was because I liked it. You’re just afraid of change. No, you’re just changing for the sake of change. Nuh-uh. Am so. Hmph, looks like some people don’t appreciate the hard work we do around here for virtually nothing. Hmph, looks like some people don’t know how to run a website to my satisfaction. etc. etc. etc.
And is it enough to not block the ads, or must you also read them? Click on them? Send the advertiser an email explaining that you don’t need their product but you really appreciate their advertising on such a fine website?
FKballs, is this not the poor man’s version of Ted Nugent? How dare he besmirch the unsoiled name of our hero and benefactor George Zimmer!
\"Weren\'t you already aware the Kay is already writing everyone\'s story? We\'re all just characters who believe we are real. Things make more sense now, don\'t they. Be honest.\"- DMOAS
I’m actually planning to buy a new suit soon. Men’s Wearhouse was not on my radar until reading that post. Does anyone else support that recommendation?
The first question is how much help you’ll need picking something out and fitting/tailoring it. I’ve gone a couple of times and had good, although not spectacular, experiences with some difficulty with tailoring. They do have the best selection, so you’ll find something.
My current suit is from Nordstrom’s, where I’ve had excellent experience, although at a higher price.
A soliloquy of fresh-sounding ideas which would probably be disastrous.
I’ve never worn a mens’ suit, but I’ve worn a skirtsuit before.
\"Weren\'t you already aware the Kay is already writing everyone\'s story? We\'re all just characters who believe we are real. Things make more sense now, don\'t they. Be honest.\"- DMOAS
Uniqlo: otherwise known as the place for clothes for people who have a Japanese-sized body. I never once found clothes or shoes that fit me at Uniqlo in Japan.
az di bobe volt gehat beytsim volt zi geven mayn zeyde
The Chinese tailor (Lee?) at the Nordstroms at the Powell St station mall is brusque but is seriously legit and really fast.
Last time I was there he ripped out the biggest fart while measuring an inseam and stonewall straight-faced it, heh.
It’s really too bad I have to wear suits all of about twice a year and never for work, given that there’s a Men’s Wearhouse in the building I work in, a Macy’s one block to the north, and a Nordstrom one block to the west.
A soliloquy of fresh-sounding ideas which would probably be disastrous.
I wish I had the guts to wear suits like those. Just one wouldn’t be good enough; that would just be an oddity. A closet full of bright colors and patterns, though…guys who can pull that off have my admiration.
"Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."
I use to work with a guy who would wear a full pimp suit in SEIU purple to work every day with white and black loafers and a large hat with a gold chain around his neck.
In play, run(s)! Talk dirty to me gamecast, talk dirty. - Nevermoor
1. Something like $400, but I could go a little higher.
2. Yeah, but never one that I’ve really been happy with. I’m pretty skinny and have kind of a small head, so I look like David Byrne in most suits — need something pretty fitted.
I should have also asked what is your time frame. Do you need to go buy one today and then go to an interview next week? Or is this a I need this but I can wait thing?
In play, run(s)! Talk dirty to me gamecast, talk dirty. - Nevermoor
I love Men’s Wearhouse; just bought two new shirts there yesterday. Like any clothing place with salespeople on the floor, they will try to upsell you, especially on the accessories. But for reasonable quality at good prices they’re hard to beat. You certainly can get better suits, but you’ll pay for them. Also, you’re supporting an Oakland company, and George Zimmer wants to own the Oakland A’s some day.
"Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."
The waitresses are all cigarette smokers, so they’re gonna decline quickly. They’ll have the bad face by 35.
\"Weren\'t you already aware the Kay is already writing everyone\'s story? We\'re all just characters who believe we are real. Things make more sense now, don\'t they. Be honest.\"- DMOAS
That’s pretty much the whole of it, both times: House party, FSU charm, makeout session, closest available room, return to party. My actual room was being used as a party outpost hang out place. It’s illustrative of my taste in women (one petite, one hippie) that neither realized they’d left their bra behind; it didn’t come up until the roommates asked me the next day if I knew where the strange bras came from.
"Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."
In my younger days it was often so mysterious whenever I moved the bed or changed addresses.
I couldn’t figure out if it was some kind of strange territorial marking or just forgetfulness, but hrm, several times???
I was on a mad streak at Beauty Bar circa spring 2010. At one point I was 14 for 16… including mental health couselor, ear ring girl, and my favorite… Celeste.
She was tall and had black hair and straight across bangs and bob length hair. She had olive skin a couple of tatoos and was leggy. I tried to take her home with me but she insisted on bring the gay friend with her. When we got back to my house we left the gay friend and my roommates cat in my room and we went into the laundry room where we had a piano organ at the time. I had lifted her up on the piano organ and was banging her when the gay friend started calling out for her. I pulled up my pants and ran out because he had tried to find us in my roommates’ room (they were already alseep in the room). Turns out he tried to turn the light in my room on but instead pulled the wiring to it out of the ceiling. He had also called their friends to drive them back to San Jose. They had arrived and she left without her jacket or her underwear.
What happened when she came back to get them is more graphic, so I will cut it slightly short, but alas I had to rewire the light in my ceiling.
In play, run(s)! Talk dirty to me gamecast, talk dirty. - Nevermoor
A good guest would have asked if it was okay to pull the wiring out of the ceiling while you fker their friend. But alas, he twas not such a person after all.
Totally worth it and we had some crazy sex for the next three months (much of which would happen on my lunch break when she would drive up) before I started dating Anastasia and was in love so I stopped calling her.
Best part is that two months after I stopped calling her, she calls me to let me know that shes left her husband for me. She never told me she was married. She said “well didn’t you wonder why I couldn’t fk you all the time?” I replied ” You would drive from SJ to fuck me on my lunch hour… what part of any time I wanted did you think I should have been suspicous about”
Also two years later I was flirting with these two girls at the Grand and the gay best friend (who was friends with one of them) comes over and starts yelling “you fked my friend in your laundry room”… not helpful.
In play, run(s)! Talk dirty to me gamecast, talk dirty. - Nevermoor
The girl told me she was thinking of just going home after her car got broken into “I don’t even have a bra!” she said. I was so confused as to why I would not be ok with that.
In play, run(s)! Talk dirty to me gamecast, talk dirty. - Nevermoor
I’m confused, now that I’ve read this for the 4th time.
Is this a semi-reply fail to MikeV, or did you see the plasticwrap photoshoot?
\"Weren\'t you already aware the Kay is already writing everyone\'s story? We\'re all just characters who believe we are real. Things make more sense now, don\'t they. Be honest.\"- DMOAS
She’s also got no real interest in dating someone inside our circle of friends.
She’s super awesome though. Her and a couple others masterminded the coolest christmas present ever for me this year, they “stole” my motorcycle and tricked it all out for me and gave it back.
And I have to say: mikev is one of my favorite people on here
-slusser.
I’ve decided that wishing people a happy new year puts too much pressure on them. So I’ll just wish you a happy next 24 hours, and then renew that wish as necessary.
\"Weren\'t you already aware the Kay is already writing everyone\'s story? We\'re all just characters who believe we are real. Things make more sense now, don\'t they. Be honest.\"- DMOAS
I could be wrong here, but I don’t think that’s necessarily the case. A lot of the debt is borrowed from Social Security, right? So paying it back doesn’t instantly put that money in circulation.
I would imagine just that the money exists in some form or another would have a negative effect. It’s just how much of one and if there were other methods like the reduction of other cash that could be used to offset it’s impact.
I suppose there could be a negative impact on bond yields going forward. And yeah, I would think there would need to be some amount of contraction of the money supply.
Eventually, maybe, but the problem now is that the ideal fed interest rate right now should be negative, but that isn’t possible, so we need to come up with policies to achieve a similar increase in supply.
The fact that this policy also solves the stupid debt ceiling GOP-fuckery is just a bonus.
"There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
Hell, I might even buy you a house if I could get a negative interest rate. I’d even let them give me a really fking HIGH negative interest rate. I’m cool like that.
It shouldn’t cause any more inflation than you would get if Congress just raised the debt ceiling, like they are supposed to, and then the treasury paid for all of the previous approved spending, like they are supposed to.
No. Not with the economy where it is now (for all the same reasons that people who have been fretting about inflation every time the fed does any easing for the last three years have been dead wrong).
"There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
The debt ceiling is only a problem because it is a law that might prevent the treasury from paying the bills. It’s just completely made up, so one solution is to find a stupid loophole in order to get around it.
A better description of how this work-around functions:
* The US Treasury takes in money from taxes and pays for all government expenditures. But it isn’t allowed to print money, so it has to borrow anytime that expenditures exceed revenue.
* The Federal Reserve is allowed to print money, so it does that and then can lend that money to the Treasury. (Note: this doesn’t actually involve printing any bills, just accounting.)
* The debt ceiling is a limit to how much the Treasury is allowed to borrow. Many people find this dumb and redundant, because the reason that the Treasury needs to borrow that money in the first place is because Congress passed some legislation (and the President signed it) that required the government to spend and Congress also passed some legislation that sets the tax rates and determines how much revenue comes into the Treasury.
* The platinum coin option is a way for the Treasury (not the Federal Reserve) to create money. If it is creating the money, then it isn’t borrowing the money, so it doesn’t count towards the debt limit. Of course, the Treasury isn’t going to start paying people using platinum coins, so what they do is make the platinum coin and then trade it for dollars from the Federal Reserve.
I agree. It shows both the commitment to not let stupid politics get in the way and shows how stupid the GOP is.
We needed a full level offensive last time to explain to people that the debt ceiling allows you to pay back the debt you already rang up… not agree to new debt.
Its like if you personally said I have a rule that I passed that I will only pay back $1000 on my mortgage, car, and student loans and your total costs are 1200 bucks. All of those things are spending that you already have decided to make… you are now deciding whether or not to default on it.
In play, run(s)! Talk dirty to me gamecast, talk dirty. - Nevermoor
Based on where she was found, I’d say she didn’t know the area well enough to set out alone on that walk even if sober, because there’s a much shorter route. It sounds like she was probably drunk or stoned, probably slipped on some ice, passed out in the snow bank and died of exposure.
In your old age I can see you becoming a backcountry ranger and going the way Randy Morgenson did. His remains were found well off-trail at high altitude. The book about his disappearance and the search, The Last Season, was not great, but readable.
Well the story is that Grace Kelly character and her husband travel to Africa and Clark Gable gets involved with Grace Kelly while also doing Ava Gardner on the side (sucks to be Clark Gable).
Anyway, when the film was dubbed in Spain during Franco dictatorship, the censorship office, ran mostly by the church, decided that such indecency could not be levied upon frail flock. Of course, I am not talking about Gable doing two chicks, but that of Kelly being infidel to her husband. So they dubbed the movie in a way that changed Kelly’s relationship to her husband to the one of a sister and brother. Never mind that they, too were heavily kissing and more in the movie. I guess in church’s eyes, incest is OK, extra-marital affairs are not.
Wouldn’t it have been easier to just ban the movie? On the other hand, they could have also just passed of the incest as a product of their Southern upbringing. If they dubbed it into Spanish with Southern accents.
\"Weren\'t you already aware the Kay is already writing everyone\'s story? We\'re all just characters who believe we are real. Things make more sense now, don\'t they. Be honest.\"- DMOAS
Woo hoo! End of year music lists!
I’m pretty far out of any loop right now, and I feel like I missed out on a lot of music this year, but there were some things that I enjoyed quite a lot. As a bonus, half of these bands (Mi Ami, Deerhoof, Grass Widow) are from the Bay Area.
In no particular order:
I forgot about:
Spiritualized — Sweet Heart, Sweet Light
Their live show rocked too.
My lady and I met at a Deerhoof show 11 1/2 years ago.
Oh wow… I saw them 11 1/2 years ago in a basement in Sacramento. Go figure.
So thats how long you and Kay have been together?
Heh.
Yes. They are super fun live and they still tour **all the time**.
First time I saw them was only 7 1/2 years ago :(
First time I heard of em was…when I read your pst about 45 seconds ago.
You’ve known EM longer than that. You’ve met her… in person!
Re Stanton: I can’t believe we traded Pennington already. Now I can’t use him as a centerpiece of these deals.
ditto for Tyson Ross
‘cmon guys… you can’t put anything together around Peacock, Weeks, and a PTBNL?
That’s a GOOD ONE!
I dunno. Peacock has a lot of upside, and Weeks is a proven .300 hitter. Also, I like PTBNL.
VORS
works on so many levels
yup
A weighted rope?
there you go!
Why not re-sign Crosby and Godfrey and trade them?
Ed Crosby would be SO MAD.
I like this plan
Since I figured some of you should know:
I’m starting the transition to move things off my current site over to Flickr. As part of this, I am most likely going to be discontinuing my minor league baseball photography. As much as I’ve liked it, this year a lot of it started to feel more like work and less like a fun thing I enjoyed.
I’ve never made any money on it, though it’s cost a lot to do overall. Many people would give anything to have the access I’ve had. This has allowed me to travel – at my own expense, mind – to see a lot of different places and I’ve had the chance to talk to many people.
Getting to know different people from a more professional side instead of just as a sports fan has been a great experience, but at some point I had to start looking at it as “how much longer can I afford to keep doing this?” At this point, I don’t know that I can.
Whatever the case, I’m moving forward with the shift off a personal site to Flickr and I’ll have to think long and hard about the next step. If that means no more sports photography, I’ve still had a lot of fun over the last half-decade of it. We’ll see.
cool, I have always enjoyed your stuff.
That is not an easy decision, but if you get the bug I am sure you can make something else happen again. Plus you have all the memories and you are not dead, so even though you may not have gotten the money, you have gotten more than most.
Very true. I’ve still been able to do a lot more than many.
Like I said elsewhere a moment ago, a big part of this is it’s never been a full-time thing I could really turn into something that’d pay. I’ve always had a regular job that allowed me to have this hobby, so if this was ever going to get more serious than it was it’d have to at least replace what I make now and I just don’t see that ever happening.
I think flickr is a pretty good site. Just curious — is the reason that you stopped using your own site just because of hosting fees?
Also, are you eventually planning to move all of your existing baseball photography over there? Or will it stay up at your site? Or will it be lost forever to the internet? (hopefully the answer isn’t #3)
It’s a variety of things, but the costs are one part of it.
I’m probably going to be selling my D3, too. I just don’t NEED it, maybe never really did, but there was a time I could afford to have one and I wanted to see where things would go.
The issues I’ve had with the site itself are kind of complex, but in addition to the hosting costs and the yearly renewals for domain names (including the blog I rarely use), the person doing the hosting isn’t really making that a primary focus of what he does any more and there are certain things about the Coppermine software neither of us have been able to resolve. Of course, any time he needs to try to fix or tweak something, it’s going to cost me.
What I’m expecting is that whatever’s up there now is going to go away sooner rather than later. I’m starting out by moving scenery-related stuff over to Flickr, then I’ll see what I want to do with the baseball stuff. I’d like to keep it up there in some form, but moving things, naming photos and all that is going to be pretty time-intense.
I would expect there to be a way to automate that, particularly if whatever hosting software you used is/was somewhat standard.
Maybe so, but I just don’t know enough to deal with it and I hate having to have others fix issues for me.
You do good work, and flickr is an inexpensive and highly functional host.
Thank you for going as your muse takes you, and thank you for sharing your fine photography over the last half-decade plus.
The low cost of a pro account on Flickr was a big factor. It’s going to be about 10% what I was paying for a year of hosting (about $25 a year on Flickr compared to around $20 a month for the personal stuff) and when I had an issue with an upgrade of the software I was billed about $100/hr just to have some things fixed.
As nice as it is to be able to point people to my own unique place on the web, it’s a cost I just don’t have a justification for any more. I can deal with having a little less of a personalized thing for what Flickr offers at the price they do it for.
I’m not done with photography by any stretch, but if this goes the way I’m thinking it’s going to be related more to non-sports things going forward.
fk that
It sounds like you are going through what most artists do, a decision to change focus when they have explored what they wanted in a certain subject matter.
Seriously. Can I have $10,000?
To an extent, I guess. It’s not that I hate the sports photography, but maybe in ways it’s just…limiting. There’s a lot of stuff I’ve enjoyed getting in terms of good action shots, but there are only so many ways you can shoot a guy throwing or hitting a baseball.
I think more than that, what I’ve got out of it was more on the personal side in terms of the interactions with some people.
On the flipside, I can do the nature stuff any time but it’s going to take more to get to those places than it would, say, Raley Field.
yeah… thats kinda what I got from your first post.
may your new focus be fulfilling.
I appreciate it, thanks.
Off to see Django Unchained. Will catch up later.
I was supposed to be off to see Django Reinhardt, but someone swiped my fking TARDIS!
What?!? Who the hell let you out of your chains?!?
This is a funny comment.
A childhood friend of mine’s father made his money taking pro photos on spec for local sports (little league, pop warner, high school, etc.) and gave his card to parents so they could get photos of their kids playing. Eventually he even got a side job doing on field photos for the 49ers.
That’s not a bad way to go at all.
This is why you do wedding photography. It pays for doing the stuff you really want to do.
I hate dealing with people in that regard.
If you decide to keep the website (or make a backup, so you can bring it back online at a later date) I’d be happy to help out free of charge. I’m in my last semester of computer school and I have a day job, so with my very limited free time I’ve been picking up a few web development projects for friends with an eye to filling out my resume and getting some good references/letters of recommendation.
Assuming you can backup the databases, wordpress/coppermine should be fairly easy to move to a new host ($20/mo seems pretty steep – I think Network Solutions has decent packages starting around $8/mo).
In any case, best of luck with the transition and thanks for the pictures. In addition to direct links you’ve posted over the years, I’ve often come across your stuff via google & scout.com – considering how prolific you’ve been in minor league photography its really ashame its turned into a financial burden.
I appreciate it. I don’t know yet what it’d take to do that, but shoot me an e-mail if you’d like to talk about it further. Who knows, it might work out in some way.
flashfire at speakeasy dot net
The hosting was basically $240 a year and I had both my photo site as a .com and .net and the blog site (my name) the same way.
Psh. .com AND .net?!? Too fancy.
You’re just bitter that the Monkey took our .com.
The Monkey has the Comm.
Well, on the list of things from that time I’m bitter about it’s low on the list. But yes.
(Sagh)
Is that a Saag’s sigh?
Have lots of fun with what comes next, whatever that may be.
Thanks. I’ll still find things to take pictures of.
Been productive today. About a thousand pics already moved over, just from this year alone:
Let’s try that again.
Hey, good luck with the move and your photographs were always appreciated
Thanks, man.
It takes a lot of courage to shift your art away from something that works and is fun, but it’s necessary to open new doors and not stagnate.
I wish I could take this lesson to heart for my own music.
Best of luck with wherever your art takes you, and keep us in the loop!
I hear you there. I’m sure I could keep doing it as long as I want, but the drive’s not there when it comes to all the work that goes into actually getting photos ready to see later.
When Chris Lockard does stuff for the Scout.com site (well, they have the Fox Sports connection now) he usually puts up a lot less than I do from any one game. I could probably pick out 10-20 shots from each game and leave it at that but I’ve always gone for more, especially because I’ve tried showing as many of the players I see as I can.
I’ll just have to see where the photography bug leads me down the line. It may end up just being something where I do less of it aside from occasional short trips, but I don’t know. I also have the cat now, so that’s another factor to keep in mind when I want to go out of town for more than a day or so.
Doesn’t that suck? I hope you don’t stop taking pictures, because I like looking at them, but you do what you need to do.
Yep. Thanks. I’ll still find things to share.
i know the fiscal cliff is a fantasy that isn’t going to have much lasting (if any) harm on our society but it make me think of this:
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It could lead to a double dip recession without the unemployment extension and middle and lower class taxes going up with the expiration of the payroll tax holliday, which would completely fk us.
I still favor going over it rather than a shitty deal.
This is the most important part.
We are STILL in a position where any stimulus is better than no stimulus, but if we’re ever going to say “fuck you, hostage takers, you own this” then this is the right time, since there is no full faith and credit issue.
Well, looks like its settled.
Let the media log ride begin, it’s not like any of can’t be retroactively figured out in the first few months of 2013.
any of this*
Still pretty flabbergasted by the timing of the raises as well – here guys, congrats on fabricating a shit-storm, ignoring it for the past year, then resemble a bunch of sullen children blaming those across the aisle for whats happening.
Well the timing of the raises was needed because Obama needed to increase the pay of federal workers in general who had been stuck in a wage freeze. The fact that congressional salaries were tied to it is lame but whatever.
The cola wars begin anew
I was pretty sure this had to do with the fight for inflation chaining in the fiscal cliff.
I was wrong.
Today in totally unsurprising coaching news..
I am mixed about this. I am thrilled and it had to be done, glad it happened quickly. But at the same time it never should have happened at all. I feel like it was just a waste of a developmental year for each and every member of the “offense”-if you call it that.
Can we get a countdown clock installed for pitchers and catchers reporting?
Will Knapp go back to writing for the Chron?
Heh.
Like whom? Its not like they have a young quarterback or really any quality youth on that team to waste.
But remember how DHB was going to totes outplay Crabtree?
Im pretty sure the only person that thought that died last season.
One could argue that DHB did exactly that last year. This year, however, …
Yesterday the Raiders had nothing to lose, with the athletic and unknown Terrell Pryor starting at QB, Knapp knowing his job was on the line, and he still couldn’t manage to do anything interesting or unexpected on offense. Same old crappy ineffective stuff on third down. Not a guy who should be calling plays.
Which is what he has been his entire career… Im not sure why anyone thought that his hire was a good idea.
T-104m
The dinner begins…
I kinda want to buy this.
Welcome to furry-dom DFA!
I bought it.
Im hella going to wear it to raves.
Looks like a lot of fun, you just need a big shiny pair of ski googles.
and some mucklucks.
Happy new year, peeps
Right back atcha, although I have my doubts as to whether I’m a human being or a tacky marshmallow candy at this time.
Happy 2013 and I am here with a heads-up from someone we all love who is in the process of doing something that will please us all to no end.
I been talking to Ken K. about this Bill King book he is in the process of writing. It is called Holy Toledo: Lessons from Bill King, Renaissance Man of the Mic. It’s gonna be published in the Spring but he is working on it now… the first book he’s ever tried to write. He’d like you all to go to the Facebook page — right now the only indication of the book online because KK would like to avoid the pressure on him as a new author that too much publicity would exert — “Like” it and then leave your reminiscences and thoughts about BK in the comments on the thread with the others. For those of you that are not FB types, you may send me your words and I will see that KK gets them.
Basically he wants to possibly include stuff from the fans so it isn’t just from one perspective and that’s us, so get on there or send me something and maybe you’ll find your way into the final thing, who knows? This book is already slated to be published (by former Chronicle beat writer for the A’s, Steve Kettmann, who has a publishing company now) in early-to-mid 2013, so see what you all can come up with. I can’t promise it’ll get in the finished thing but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take this opportunity to give your own personal tributes to the one and only King of the microphone.
my email for non FB’ers is
emperornobody@yahoo.com
That is very cool, thanks for sharing it.
Suspense!
But does this even matter at all since there will be no vote before the next congress?
…more often than not you just wind up staring at the wreckage of your stupid model plane and sniffing leftover glue.
Magary the Vikes fan on the agony and ecstasy of obsessed fandom.
My last comment of the year:
Thank you folks for being yourselves, and thank you for putting up with me.
Happy NY Miggy!
This is the year I’m finally going to improve the diet and lose the weight, and I’ll start by passing up the pizza
and beerduring the Rose Bowl.BOB EUBANKS!
HOLY CRAP THAT GUY IS STILL ALIVE!
He is my friend’s uncle.
Fuck You 2012. For reals. Fuck you so fucking hard.
Thanks, and go As.
This squared. Make this year your bitch Mike!
Happy FKin New Year, y’all!
yes indeed
Grant Balfour’s holiday album?
“I resolve to listen to more grindcore”
done
The batgirls vs. the Badgers is a nice throwback game, two big teams beating the crap out of each other for 3-yard gains. Brent seems to be enjoying the second half; in the first half I thought he sounded like he was nursing a nasty New Year’s hangover and might have dozed off if Herbie weren’t elbowing him in the ribs.
The game’s not bad, but I wish they would have showed more of the actual halftime show instead of cutting away after 45 seconds to yap.
Also, boo for games where one team has white tops and red pants and the other has red tops and white pants.
Yeah, that’s pretty irritating, but better than Furd wearing black which they do on occasion.
The Big Ten team with the barely-existent passing game has a chance late but throws the fatal interception. Ah, that’s the 1970s again, the Rose Bowls of WoodyBall and BoBall of my youth.
I thought we’d break out the black tops. It was weird in the stands too–everyone was wearing red. The badgers twist is that a surprising number of 20ish kids were wearing these bizarre wide red & white striped overalls, with the girls frequently wearing just a black bra underneath. I was in a parka.
The Wisconsin band is awesome.
We had such a blast. It started when the rental car place gave me a Crown Vic instead of my usual Kia Sephia and went to 11 from there.
But Pasadena…you’ve had 100 years of doing the parade…you might want to start thinking about a traffic plan.
Woo! Stanford!!
I don’t care about the school or the footballers, but I do love the LSJUMB. That Wisconsin band was as dull as ditchwater, which is odd considering that Madison is a very hip place and Milwaukee is full of polka bands, so between them the student musicians should have been able to find some role model. But no.
Yeah, I like the band too.
With a big shot on national television (and in recent years the Rose Bowl TV ratings have been pretty similar to the ratings for most World Series games) I was hoping they would do something like spell out BOOBS and then march into forming a giant pair. In their brief appearance they spelled FUNNY but you couldn’t tell the context.
From what people were saying on Twitter, I think they spelled FU and paused for a moment.
hey em, I saw my brother at christmans, he probably would have told me to tell you hi, if he had not asked me how I knew you.
My friend’s HS marching band was invited to the Gator Bowl back in the 80’s, as was Stanford’s band. Stanford played “Yellow River” and spelled out “PEE”.
Also, on their drive to FL, they left 3 people behind at a truck stop or something. So they picked up a few random strangers, gave them uniforms (but no instruments), and brought them out on the field.
Soph year we won the Fiesta bowl competition, but the weather was bad and they cancelled halftime bands to save the field.
That’s too bad. It would’ve been fun, I would think. Funny, it must rain what, twice a year there?
Yes it would have been. While I was in HS we marched at Disney World for an Easter parade and got to march/run the Macy’s Thanksgiving day parade. They were great experiences. In fact I was cleaning up some stuff of my dad’s recently and grabbed all of my old VHS tapes. Gonna sit down at some point and copy them over to a disc.
You should upload them so we can all share in the fun.
I might do that. Freshman year with the ruffle shirts would be nice. If you like your Danny Elfman and broadway played by a 150 piece bnd, these are for you..if you are the other 99.72% of the world, these arent the droids youre looking for.
I hope you didn’t do any raunchy Elvis Presley songs.
so batgirl had a great trip then?
OMG it was sooooooo awesome. I am so depressed to be home.
This is pretty good advice.
Did anyone else find Torii Hunter’s “clarification” hard to accept? I’m just wondering where my basic rights — to love whom I wish and to work in workplaces in the secular world free of the bigotry of people so enabled in their sociopathy that they don’t even realize they’re trying to exclude people from doing something they were once themselves excluded from doing — cease to be subject to the whim of those that would just rather I did not exist because I (or their infantile myth of who they think I am) makes them “uncomfortable”.
I want to forgive him but I am still skeptical.
If the two separate quotes are combined at the ellipses, I can’t really imagine what goes between them that makes his comments any less offensive. Unless it’s something like “For me, as a Christian, if I have homophobic and hateful teammates, I will be uncomfortable because in all my teachings and all my learning, biblically, it’s not right. It will be difficult and uncomfortable.â€
I love “Christians” who rail about the terrible marginalization as Christians they feel even as their beliefs — which have only ruled every corner of the Earth for 2000 years and counting — are under such shattering, dangerous attack that they can feel entitled to deprive others of opportunities and vital life possibilities based on their “discomfort”. I can’t marry, play in the MLB and be myself, adopt kids, whatever the FK it is so this racist, homophobic cunt can feel “comfortable”. When the Tigers come next season I will buy excellent seats in the first row on the RF line for all my gay and gay-simpatico pals and lead taunting, high-volume chants of “Tor-ii Ha-ter!!!!” until he soils himself right there in the outfield.
I want to walk right up to this shit-stick moron and ask him: hey Torii, isn’t it ironic that when the White Man came to Africa the Africans had all the resources, all the minerals, all the land, all the sovereignty, and all he had was the phony, bullshit religion…. and just a few centuries later he had all the resources and the Africans were left with the phony belief system and nothing else? Why, that worked SO WELL you’d almost think it was an intentional tool of control and colonization, designed to strip people of color of their dignity, their land, and their sense! Oh, wait….
At every city the Tigers go to, you should have tickets to a drag show waiting for him at the hotel.
hahahah! FKing brilliant!
And we could mail him copies of the ads to the shows. I bet opening those letters would make him uncomfortable.
Make sure there’s glitter in those envelopes.
YES!
Maybe sign the letters with a penis print like a lipstick kiss.
Can’t risk leaving DNA evidence.
Use someone else’s penis.
Can I have 5
dollarsinches?5 inches? Do I look like Ron Jeremy to you?
I’m sorry but I do not have an inch to spare.
Chortle.
#WIN
Checking expenses from 2011 to 2012, this past year I spent more on credit card payments, utilities and the house, to name a few. However, I spent less on the mortgage (slightly), groceries (when factoring in no longer using Costco), gas and took out less cash.
I also cut down what I considered “unnecessary” spending by about $100 a month. Work pay was nearly equal but I sold less stuff on eBay. Overall I cut my spending by about $225 a month, but what I took in dropped by about $320 a month.
Again, a lot of that is related to not selling as much on eBay but it’s not a bad sign even though I came out in the red for 2012. I made some definite improvements in cutting back on certain types of spending and as long as I maintain what I take in I should be okay. I also have a few things I plan to sell and that will make a difference in 2013.
Just to emphasize the benefit of working from home, in 2011 I spent $700 on gas. In 2012 I spent $470.
I’ve been trying to learn the guitar, mostly on my own, but with the occasional lesson from my father and it’s not really working. It would appear that I need some regular lessons. Can anyone recommend a decent teacher in the east bay? Preferably one that will come to my house and work for cheap/home cooked meals/trade?
Hmm…
Are you learning on a decent guitar? Your fretting is probably better than you think if you’re playing on a buzzy piece-of-crap. How are your fretting calluses? Do your fingers ever blister/bleed?
Another thing that comes up early in the learning process is that it’s hard to concentrate on doing two things at once. I found that learning went a lot quicker when I’d lock into an easy strum pattern when working on fretting, or holding one chord when working on picking/arpeggiating/strumming. Integrating complex patterns between the two came later.
And of course, IMHO, the most important thing for a rookie to learn is the glorious power chord, because you can play it at most any position, and if you fret it strong, you build muscle memory while rocking out to the classics. Good times.
I’m pretty sure it’s a decent guitar. It was a birthday present from my dad, who was a professional musician for a number of years and owned a musical instrument shop for a number of years after that.
My big issue is that I’ll do great for a week or two, build up some good calluses and then get out of the rhythm and go a month or more. I think regular lessons would help.
I don’t know but this is a perfect spot for this:
Seems as appropriate a time as any to tell my music nerd joke I recently made up about all those self-taught piano weenies who make the ladies swoon with nary a black key: those guys should be arrested for soliciting A-minor.
It’s missing the racist context.
Q. What do you call it when a piano is dropped down a coal shaft?
A. A Flat Miner
Cubbies sign Edwin jackson, looks like the Rangers miss out on yet another top FA.
cool. but their rotation is going to ok, barring injury
More FAIL from ** – now, the only way to see Fan Posts on the main page is to disable Adblock. Not that there’s much to see, but still, let’s keep discouraging people from posting their own stuff and instead bow and scrape to the “professionals” who are “writing” on the main page.
i really jope yon and cup are getting real money from that
snort
Really? How’s that?
They made some layout change to supposedly make the Fan Posts easier to see, but they FKed it up, so that AdBlock keeps them hidden.
Insert Picard facepalm here.
Well its not like there are many of them these days anyhow…
Huh, I can see the Fanposts with Adblock activated on Firefox. They’re still “below the fold” though, because they insist on featuring those huge photos to tease the main front page content. Also, that’s sad but unsurprising that the dozen or so Fanposts they show (which goes back 15 days) have so few comments. I guess the idea is, we’ll let you create your own post if it’s that important to you, but we’re going to minimize those and do everything we can to steer our users to the content posted by our front page writers over which we have total control.
Yeah, a few weeks ago (I think Nakajima signing) there was a FanPost that broke thee news. It got like 12 comments. And the front page post started with something like “due to the technical impossibility of promoting a FanPost to front page, let’s discuss this here”
Still not regretting
leavingbeing banned from that place at all.Me neither.
Thirded.
I’m regretting that I never actually got banned.
Sounds like a perfect excuse for a New Year’s Resolution.
dare
Likewise. But it’s never too late!
I considered going and changing the link in my going away essay on my profile page from .com to .net, but that would mean I’d have to log in again.
Thanks, and go As.
Yeah, this is the overriding concern. Plus, it would be ineffective since I doubt anyone over there even remembers who I am.
Likewise. I don’t really have the time or energy to be that controversial though.
Maybe they fixed the bug. I’m sure they didn’t check it to begin with, because (as the Rev told us all last year), the target audience are the advertisers, so nobody should be using AdBlock anyway.
There’s a post at Blog Huddle, which is apparently the SBN site for sanctioned meta, explaining all the improvements. It got 1400+ comments before they shut it down as too
democraticunwieldy. Some drip started lecturing people in the comments about how people who used AdBlock were thieves. Also, **** is in there complaining about how posts get ordered.No offense, but there’s nothing in your comment that makes me want to click that link.
Oh, I didn’t mean it to be enticing, just verifiable. It’s like every AN meta battle ever but without any personalities. We have change, look how shiny! Yes, but your change sucks, please change it back to the way it was because I liked it. You’re just afraid of change. No, you’re just changing for the sake of change. Nuh-uh. Am so. Hmph, looks like some people don’t appreciate the hard work we do around here for virtually nothing. Hmph, looks like some people don’t know how to run a website to my satisfaction. etc. etc. etc.
As for the AdBlock guy… does he watch all the commercials on TV? And listen to them? What about on the radio?
And is it enough to not block the ads, or must you also read them? Click on them? Send the advertiser an email explaining that you don’t need their product but you really appreciate their advertising on such a fine website?
He must thank the Googles for selling all his information for him to their benefit too.
Consider yourself warned, DFA.
Whatever, that place isn’t even cool anymore. I use to go there all the time before it got ruined tho.
That’s the most fun I’ve had reading comments in a while.
There were some good ones, for sure.
Now that I’ve discovered this site, I’m probably gonna post a lot of shit from it, so get used to it.
Can we please just sacrifice Dave Mustaine to any deity that’ll take him already?
FKballs, is this not the poor man’s version of Ted Nugent? How dare he besmirch the unsoiled name of our hero and benefactor George Zimmer!
I’m actually planning to buy a new suit soon. Men’s Wearhouse was not on my radar until reading that post. Does anyone else support that recommendation?
The first question is how much help you’ll need picking something out and fitting/tailoring it. I’ve gone a couple of times and had good, although not spectacular, experiences with some difficulty with tailoring. They do have the best selection, so you’ll find something.
My current suit is from Nordstrom’s, where I’ve had excellent experience, although at a higher price.
My only non thrift suit is from macys. Pants $85, Jacket $170 or so, don’t remember. Calvin Klien, black. Very much an intern suit. I like it fine.
Macys had better service for me. People generally left me alone, andswerd questions, go what I wanted.
I would have thought you’d need multiple suits for your job. I guess I haven’t visited an urban criminal courtroom in some time.
I do have multiple suits. ONly one I bought new
I have a suit that costs $1,600.
How hipster is that.
I told the guy I bought it from it made me feel like Gob and he just stared at me blankly.
I’ve never worn a suit in my life.
I’ve never worn a mens’ suit, but I’ve worn a skirtsuit before.
A well tailored suit is an extremely comfortable thing.
Yeah, not for me. T and jeans. Naked is even better.
It’s like we were separated at birth.
A well tailored suit for a man is the same as lingerie is for a woman.
I have to admit, I wear blue jeans everyday but I own a pair of tailored dress pants that are more comfortable than pajama bottoms.
I have a pair of dress chinos with pajama lining.
Kitten lined, really?
naw its this uniqlo windproof chino thing that is really awesome. Tailored and lined for 30 bucks. super quality and well fitting.
uniqlo?
Not hipster enough.
Thanks, and go As.
how is it not… its only available in NY Japan and SF
Uniqlo: otherwise known as the place for clothes for people who have a Japanese-sized body. I never once found clothes or shoes that fit me at Uniqlo in Japan.
what size are you?
they fit me fine and Im 6’1″.
They also will tailor your clothes to be 31 33s
You’re also skinny as fuck.
Thanks, and go As.
We really need a FKup that I’d go to (sorry about being a dry blanket).
I’m 6’6″, 215. 35/36 waist, 35/36 inseam. Old Navy/BR are pretty much the only places I can consistently find clothing my size that isn’t lame.
I have a BMI of 22 which is right in the middle of normal… Im not skinny.
BMI is bullshit
Thanks, and go As.
Eh… I weigh 170… Its pretty normal size.
Supposedly the US Uniqlo stores have resized clothes for the American body.
Clothes in Japan fit me, and it was fantastic. But the stuff at Uniqlo here in the US doesn’t.
6’1″ 170 is pretty normal, but not over where you live
Yeah… I apparently overstated my weight by 7lbs.
Im in healthy but not running a marathon shape. Pretty normal.
actually it’s exactly the marathon runners who are too skinny most often
I prefer my women folk naked too.
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The one time I got a suit at Macy’s, they did a shit job tailoring it and a worse job trying to fix it.
Yeah, imo Nordstrom >>> Macys for suits
The Chinese tailor (Lee?) at the Nordstroms at the Powell St station mall is brusque but is seriously legit and really fast.
Last time I was there he ripped out the biggest fart while measuring an inseam and stonewall straight-faced it, heh.
Oh damn, that’s hilarious.
It’s really too bad I have to wear suits all of about twice a year and never for work, given that there’s a Men’s Wearhouse in the building I work in, a Macy’s one block to the north, and a Nordstrom one block to the west.
I really wanna buy a suit from a store here in Charleston called Super Bad.
I wish I had the guts to wear suits like those. Just one wouldn’t be good enough; that would just be an oddity. A closet full of bright colors and patterns, though…guys who can pull that off have my admiration.
The great thing is, they’re cheap. I think they usually go for around $100.
You’d have to grow the beard first.
I use to work with a guy who would wear a full pimp suit in SEIU purple to work every day with white and black loafers and a large hat with a gold chain around his neck.
Baller.
Indochino.
Gray or Charcoal
Thanks, and go As.
Those look pretty nice.
1 Whats your budget?
2 Have you bought suits before?
1. Something like $400, but I could go a little higher.
2. Yeah, but never one that I’ve really been happy with. I’m pretty skinny and have kind of a small head, so I look like David Byrne in most suits — need something pretty fitted.
I should have also asked what is your time frame. Do you need to go buy one today and then go to an interview next week? Or is this a I need this but I can wait thing?
It’s an “I can wait” thing.
I would go get your measurements done at a place like norstrom and see what designers you like then do my habit or gilt or ideeli
It’s $600, but these guys are having a huge sale and their suits are A+. They have a store at Westfields
I love Men’s Wearhouse; just bought two new shirts there yesterday. Like any clothing place with salespeople on the floor, they will try to upsell you, especially on the accessories. But for reasonable quality at good prices they’re hard to beat. You certainly can get better suits, but you’ll pay for them. Also, you’re supporting an Oakland company, and George Zimmer wants to own the Oakland A’s some day.
He also wants you to legally smoke pot.
My sense is that he wants me to smoke pot, period. He also wants it to be legal. But the former is not predicated upon the latter.
Well, duh. Everyone knows that pot is a gateway to designer menswear.
This is true. A friend of mine used to work there. He’s a massive smoker.
Thanks, and go As.
I’m a big fan of Mr Zimmer’s stores. Got my suits, including my tuxedo, from there, and have been very happy with their selection and service.
Well shit. Local pub place closed down.
Too bad. There were some seriously hot waitresses there (the ones in front.) (maybe the ones in back for Josh.)
Thanks, and go As.
The waitresses are all cigarette smokers, so they’re gonna decline quickly. They’ll have the bad face by 35.
yeah… the girl who was hanging out with you and your friends was hotter.
She wouldn’t go for a “nice guy” like you.
False… my milkshake brings all the girls to the yard.
They still charge though…
true story… girls keep leaving money on my dresser when they leave in the morning.
I swear Im not a hooker… but the quarters are hella useful at the laundromat.
Heh, how many bra’s under your bed?
I usually get ear rings.
Once a sheila left her panties (one of my favorite stories).
Never bras tho.
Oh and if I could ever stop finding bobbi pins I would be oh so happy.
You dont have to be ashamed DFA, lots of men like to style their hair.
I mean thats fine, they just should stop being on my floor… I haven’t dated anyone for months.
Not once but twice in my life have women accidentally left behind bras after we hooked up…in a housemate’s bed.
Oooooh story time with FSU… please continue.
That’s pretty much the whole of it, both times: House party, FSU charm, makeout session, closest available room, return to party. My actual room was being used as a party outpost hang out place. It’s illustrative of my taste in women (one petite, one hippie) that neither realized they’d left their bra behind; it didn’t come up until the roommates asked me the next day if I knew where the strange bras came from.
are you saying that there aren’t petite hippies?
Nope. Mama Cass ate ’em.
Oh man, awkward.
In my younger days it was often so mysterious whenever I moved the bed or changed addresses.
I couldn’t figure out if it was some kind of strange territorial marking or just forgetfulness, but hrm, several times???
Give the story DFA.
I was on a mad streak at Beauty Bar circa spring 2010. At one point I was 14 for 16… including mental health couselor, ear ring girl, and my favorite… Celeste.
She was tall and had black hair and straight across bangs and bob length hair. She had olive skin a couple of tatoos and was leggy. I tried to take her home with me but she insisted on bring the gay friend with her. When we got back to my house we left the gay friend and my roommates cat in my room and we went into the laundry room where we had a piano organ at the time. I had lifted her up on the piano organ and was banging her when the gay friend started calling out for her. I pulled up my pants and ran out because he had tried to find us in my roommates’ room (they were already alseep in the room). Turns out he tried to turn the light in my room on but instead pulled the wiring to it out of the ceiling. He had also called their friends to drive them back to San Jose. They had arrived and she left without her jacket or her underwear.
What happened when she came back to get them is more graphic, so I will cut it slightly short, but alas I had to rewire the light in my ceiling.
Worth it, a good friend would’ve asked her if or when she wanted to leave though.
A good guest would have asked if it was okay to pull the wiring out of the ceiling while you fker their friend. But alas, he twas not such a person after all.
the light had a switch that hung down from the ceiling that in the dark looked like a pull string for someone that hadnt been in my room.
Word of advice: Try to avoid using the words “hung” “light” and “switch” in any sentence that also includes “my room.”
Setting expectations too high?
Totally worth it and we had some crazy sex for the next three months (much of which would happen on my lunch break when she would drive up) before I started dating Anastasia and was in love so I stopped calling her.
Best part is that two months after I stopped calling her, she calls me to let me know that shes left her husband for me. She never told me she was married. She said “well didn’t you wonder why I couldn’t fk you all the time?” I replied ” You would drive from SJ to fuck me on my lunch hour… what part of any time I wanted did you think I should have been suspicous about”
Also two years later I was flirting with these two girls at the Grand and the gay best friend (who was friends with one of them) comes over and starts yelling “you fked my friend in your laundry room”… not helpful.
That’s when you reply “No, your friend fked ME in my laundry room.”
Bad gay friend, bad!
The girl told me she was thinking of just going home after her car got broken into “I don’t even have a bra!” she said. I was so confused as to why I would not be ok with that.
I’m confused, now that I’ve read this for the 4th time.
Is this a semi-reply fail to MikeV, or did you see the plasticwrap photoshoot?
I think it was for MikeV.
yes.
Which one?
Thanks, and go As.
Dark hair black glasses black shirt
The boy’s a timebomb!
I approve of this comment.
He knows how to create a time machine resulting in anything that anyone might consider going back in time and uninventing breaks apart around him?
Oh, yeah. Jen. She’s pretty awesome.
Thanks, and go As.
and the problem is?
She’s taken, she lives in Pacifica, etc?
Thanks, and go As.
I mean those first two aren’t real issues, but etc? thats a real bitch.
She’s also got no real interest in dating someone inside our circle of friends.
She’s super awesome though. Her and a couple others masterminded the coolest christmas present ever for me this year, they “stole” my motorcycle and tricked it all out for me and gave it back.
Thanks, and go As.
I am technically not in your circle of friends, am I?
Heh
Thanks, and go As.
It’s been at least 10 years since I’ve made a point of tuning in for a new episode of the Simpsons, but I sure will this Sunday.
Come on up to the house.
Speaking of which, has anyone seen Woyzeck? I see it’s been extended and seems like it could be cool. Kyli, any intel?
is this where i say hi, and happy new year?
hi hi
hi! hny! :P
H A P P Y !!!
♡
yay! missing you, b!
likewise, whens the fanfest?
the 27th. but that is TOO LONG. i must be in your presence before then. let’s make plans.
New Parkway is rad and close to bocce!
Why’d you show up so late, I gotta go to bed… :(
it’s a magick night; i can never sleep at a reasonable time after. go to bed. fb msg me. xoxo
Hi!
I’ve decided that wishing people a happy new year puts too much pressure on them. So I’ll just wish you a happy next 24 hours, and then renew that wish as necessary.
a lot of pressure on you, but it makes me happy. <3
OK, everybody on the lookout for me.
I need a pair of US Size 8 Mens Doc Marten Saxon 939
but, um, not for 130 bucks.
Thanks, and go As.
Thems’ be tasty.
Mr. Burns’ solution- A Trillion Dollar Coin
It’s actually brilliant.
It would cause pretty heavy inflation, no?
I could be wrong here, but I don’t think that’s necessarily the case. A lot of the debt is borrowed from Social Security, right? So paying it back doesn’t instantly put that money in circulation.
I would imagine just that the money exists in some form or another would have a negative effect. It’s just how much of one and if there were other methods like the reduction of other cash that could be used to offset it’s impact.
I suppose there could be a negative impact on bond yields going forward. And yeah, I would think there would need to be some amount of contraction of the money supply.
Eventually, maybe, but the problem now is that the ideal fed interest rate right now should be negative, but that isn’t possible, so we need to come up with policies to achieve a similar increase in supply.
The fact that this policy also solves the stupid debt ceiling GOP-fuckery is just a bonus.
Ooh, I would totally buy a house if I could get a negative interest rate!
Thanks, and go As.
This is why the government should be borrowing for a ton more spending. Though you never would get that rate, they currently are getting it.
Yeah but I’m not worried about that, I’m worried about me!
Thanks, and go As.
Hell, I might even buy you a house if I could get a negative interest rate. I’d even let them give me a really fking HIGH negative interest rate. I’m cool like that.
It shouldn’t cause any more inflation than you would get if Congress just raised the debt ceiling, like they are supposed to, and then the treasury paid for all of the previous approved spending, like they are supposed to.
Well, that makes sense. It’s not new spending, after all.
No. Not with the economy where it is now (for all the same reasons that people who have been fretting about inflation every time the fed does any easing for the last three years have been dead wrong).
Yeah… inflation is also good for stimulating business.
I kind of prefer the “constitutional option”, but the “platinum coin option” does have the advantage of making this whole business seem stupider.
One of those coins would have to weigh about 18000 tons to actually be worth its weight at the current going rate.
The whole point is to just declare the coin to be worth $1T, not to actually find that much platinum.
How does that fix anything?
Thanks, and go As.
The debt ceiling is only a problem because it is a law that might prevent the treasury from paying the bills. It’s just completely made up, so one solution is to find a stupid loophole in order to get around it.
When I say “completely made up”, I mean that the debt ceiling is a matter of law and politics, not economics.
A better description of how this work-around functions:
* The US Treasury takes in money from taxes and pays for all government expenditures. But it isn’t allowed to print money, so it has to borrow anytime that expenditures exceed revenue.
* The Federal Reserve is allowed to print money, so it does that and then can lend that money to the Treasury. (Note: this doesn’t actually involve printing any bills, just accounting.)
* The debt ceiling is a limit to how much the Treasury is allowed to borrow. Many people find this dumb and redundant, because the reason that the Treasury needs to borrow that money in the first place is because Congress passed some legislation (and the President signed it) that required the government to spend and Congress also passed some legislation that sets the tax rates and determines how much revenue comes into the Treasury.
* The platinum coin option is a way for the Treasury (not the Federal Reserve) to create money. If it is creating the money, then it isn’t borrowing the money, so it doesn’t count towards the debt limit. Of course, the Treasury isn’t going to start paying people using platinum coins, so what they do is make the platinum coin and then trade it for dollars from the Federal Reserve.
Very nice explanation, thanks!
this is a really simple and excellent explanation… kudos.
Yup, and I now I can understand better why it wouldn’t cause any more inflation than is basically already exists.
Oh, I understand that–I just thought it was funny.
Yeah, like I said above, I think that the funnyness aspect is the #1 thing that the platinum coin option has going for it.
I agree. It shows both the commitment to not let stupid politics get in the way and shows how stupid the GOP is.
We needed a full level offensive last time to explain to people that the debt ceiling allows you to pay back the debt you already rang up… not agree to new debt.
Its like if you personally said I have a rule that I passed that I will only pay back $1000 on my mortgage, car, and student loans and your total costs are 1200 bucks. All of those things are spending that you already have decided to make… you are now deciding whether or not to default on it.
or they could just say “Raising the debt ceiling allows you to pay back debt already owed, not create new debt.”
but that’s too easy.
Thanks, and go As.
or that.
Fly, you fools!
Dammit dammit dammit. Why are the outcomes of these things so easy to predict?
Based on where she was found, I’d say she didn’t know the area well enough to set out alone on that walk even if sober, because there’s a much shorter route. It sounds like she was probably drunk or stoned, probably slipped on some ice, passed out in the snow bank and died of exposure.
With all respect to the grieving ones here, that probably is the nicest way to die
Much better than being the victim of violent crime, no doubt.
Beats the hell out of getting crushed by a Coke machine or attacked by geese.
Seriously, from a strictly egoistical point of view, this is how I want to go
I expected you to live forever, after beheading all your foes.
There can only be one.
In your old age I can see you becoming a backcountry ranger and going the way Randy Morgenson did. His remains were found well off-trail at high altitude. The book about his disappearance and the search, The Last Season, was not great, but readable.
Unsurprising follow-up.
Pelosi loves Photoshop. Although I have no use for the former speaker, this seems to be much ado about nada.
That is the stupidest complaint ever.
Haters gonna hate.
I’m just disappointed with the Photoshop job. I like to think Nancy Pelosi personally photoshopped it.
Do you have any desire of working for the house minority?
I’m hoping FARK.com does a photoshop thread with this one.
I prefer my version:
The Planck satellite (1.5M km away, at L2) as seen by the Liverpool Telescope:
How do you expect me to remove that speck of dust from your eye when I’ve got a Planck in mine.
Very nice!
Has any of you seen Mogambo?
https://youtube.com/watch?v=sJFOhTBelpU%3Frel%3D0” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen>
yes, but I have no memory
Well the story is that Grace Kelly character and her husband travel to Africa and Clark Gable gets involved with Grace Kelly while also doing Ava Gardner on the side (sucks to be Clark Gable).
Anyway, when the film was dubbed in Spain during Franco dictatorship, the censorship office, ran mostly by the church, decided that such indecency could not be levied upon frail flock. Of course, I am not talking about Gable doing two chicks, but that of Kelly being infidel to her husband. So they dubbed the movie in a way that changed Kelly’s relationship to her husband to the one of a sister and brother. Never mind that they, too were heavily kissing and more in the movie. I guess in church’s eyes, incest is OK, extra-marital affairs are not.
Wouldn’t it have been easier to just ban the movie? On the other hand, they could have also just passed of the incest as a product of their Southern upbringing. If they dubbed it into Spanish with Southern accents.
I kinda want to do that to a bunch of movies
This grill is so last year.
So I settled on Bernie for my cat. Went through some indecision, considered Benny as well, but I think Bernie just fits.
A few new ones from today, plus more:
What a gorgeous cat! And obviously very playful. How old?
6 years, and he is.
In the first one, it looks like he’s doing the Bernie Floss.
He kind of looks like he’s doing the Bernie Lean here:
I also love this one:
LOL
Name and cat are absolute purrfection!!
Bengal?
Yep.
Very appropriate. I like “Bernie.”
One of my cats is named “Holy Toledo.”
We both have A’s cats now :)